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Thread: Guerilla Novelist, Casper Parks - Updates

  1. #171

  2. #172

  3. #173

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  5. #175
    I'm on Shift Happens from time to time as a guest. The show airs live across several streaming platforms and broadcast radio network. This episode was a spur of the moment thing. Did reviews on Film and Streaming for Science Fiction, and a bit of normal ramblings. Here is a re-post: Casper Parks - Ep. 270 Shift Happens aired 12/02/2022:


  6. #176
    Coming from Darkness was my third published novel and has errors. It was popular within the UFO Community. With Disclosure moving along at a quicker pace, I decided to offer this epic novel free as an e-Book at select retailers for a limited time.

    Coming from Darkness by Casper Parks
    Free as e-book at select retailers June 10th through September 8th, 2023:
    Google Play / Apple Books / Kobo / Barnes & Noble / Smashwords, click here for links.

    Near future, science fiction

    After a UFO crashed into a motel, public outcry demanded action. Title 14, Section 1211 Code of Federal Regulations is reinstated. Anyone in contact with an extraterrestrial or UFO is imprisoned. A secret governmental agency moved a Disclosure Plan ahead of schedule.

    In the name of public safety, alien abductees are placed into internment camps.

    In the years following, RFID biochip implants go from voluntary to the law of the land, and anyone refusing placed into retraining camps. Government scanners for biochips double as scanners for alien implants.

    First three years after Disclosure, young alien abductee Bryce had unintentionally dodged capture. When biochips became law, he fled into the wilds to live among survivalists. Former operatives of a shadow government whom had defected scanned him for an alien implant.

    Bryce is not simply a former abductee - He is an Unknown abductee. Like a society gone mad around them, survivalists fear former alien abductees.

    They suspect that aliens programed him to complete a secret mission. The government learned he is an Unknown, and intensified their hunt for him.

    Abandoned by aliens, pursued by the government and hated by society, Bryce must come to terms with an abusive past. He must learn to forgive others and forgive himself.

    All the while, he must evade capture and learn what it means to be an Unknown and discover whatever his mission was.


  7. #177
    February 14th 2024, Bestselling Author Ralph Cotton passed away.

    Ralph Cotton was a friend, mentor and source of encouragement for me.

    In the late 1990s, he suggested I give myself an assignment. Write a story away from my normal science fiction genre. After our phone call, I turned on the television and watched a PBS Special about Kakadu Australia.

    Next morning I was driving to my day-gig and crossing the 172 Bridge over the Fox River near Green Bay WI, suddenly inspiration struck! In within seconds, portions of the story Bristol came together.

    It was exciting and crazy. This all happened within seconds. While Crossing that bridge, I met the main character for a historical novel. Even the title of the story made itself known, Bristol. For me, Kern was a living and breathing person. I knew portions of Kern's backstory, his frame of mind and emotional state. It was a relationship that is difficult to put into words. He knew I was there. It was a deep connection. Closest to describe it, a parent's love for their child. Difficult to put into words but I tried.

    Crossing that suspension bridge, holographic images appeared all around me. At the onset of the American Civil War, Kern was traveling from Australia to California. He was on the run from injustice. He was onboard a ship sailing through a storm on the Pacific Ocean, waves crashing over the bow and sails tattered by gale force winds.

    I almost decided to return home, call in sick for the day-gig and start writing. However, I waited until that evening to sit-down at the keyboard. The computer was running Windows 95. The internet was young, however I was able to research for what life was like in Australia and California at the onset of the American Civil War.

    I write by the seat of my pants. Meaning, I'll have a concept and maybe know one or more characters within a story. I don't use outlines. Sometimes I'll write a note that is one, two or three lines. Louis L'Amour wrote by the seat of his pants. Stephen King writes by the seat of his pants. What works for one writer may not work for another. Lot of writers have the entire story outlined before starting. This happens in chapter one, this in chapter two and so-on. For me, an outline takes the fun out of it. I do have two concepts for a 2nd and 3rd book featuring Kern. Perhaps, down the road I'll revisit Kern.

    Bristol was a seat of my pants story. I had no outline or notes. The only thing I knew about the story was, the ship and Kern fleeing injustice. I had no idea what type of injustice Kern had fled. It was something that I learned more about as the story unfolded. When I sat down to write, I didn't know about a dog that was on the ship with Kern. It was a surprise to learn the dog's name was Bristol. That explained why the story's title fell into place when crossing that bridge.

    When I sat down and started typing that first chapter, I met Carl inside of the ship's cargo-hold. Same thing with other characters, they simply showed up and became part of the story. I had no outline or plot for the story. It simply flowed as I typed. During editing process, stories become fine tuned...

    At one point in the story Kern was sitting alone, very distraught. He was rocking back and forth, crying and missing his home in Australia. I cried with him, my face was soaked with tears... A number of readers told me they cried or almost cried at the very same place in the story...

    Bristol is available in print and e-book, click here for links to retailers.

    Genres come and go, then come and go. A genre will have periods of popularity. When the public becomes saturated with a genre, they'll move-on to something else. Years, and sometimes decades later a genre will regain popularity. It's a cycle of up and down...

    A few years after writing Bristol, there was an uptick in the sell of western books. A large publishing house was looking for three to five western authors. Ralph Cotton pulled a few strings and helped get my foot in the door for a submission. Without an agent at time, getting a manuscript looked at by a major publisher was nearly impossible. I was up against a number of authors, many who had westerns published in the past. The publisher opted for established authors with name recognition in the western genre. It made sense, so I wasn't offended. They liked the story. If they were signing more authors for the western genre, Bristol would've made it.

    Again, I had gotten close to being signed by a major publishing house. Prior to meeting Ralph online, my books Perceptional Threshold and Ages Past made the rounds at publishing houses. Sometimes making it into the top 50 submissions that year out of thousands... Sometimes, a snarky remark from a paid reader for a publisher. For the most part, the stories were liked but didn't make the final cut for new authors. Having positive feedback from a major publishing house means a lot.

    Over the years I had one editor want me to change a sentence. Another editor wanted it changed again, and the sentence end-up like it was prior the first editor...

    Ralph told me, style and grammar are a matter of opinion. It's an editor at the publisher that a writer has to make happy.

    As the internet matured and altered the landscape for musicians and authors, it was Ralph Cotton who encouraged me to stop endless self-editing of my stories. Do one last self-edit and put stuff out there for readers to discover. Allow readers to enjoy watching my writing develop and improve with each new book. He was right...

    He thought that, learning to write stories without input from editors allowed me to develop a unique style. That doesn't mean not having someone pre-read, looking for punctuation and misspellings.

    My last three books did not have an editor of any kind... My next book, I'll use someone to proof read for errors. But they're not allowed to change style or mess with dialog...

    A.I is now available to create audiobooks from text. I used an A.I to create audiobooks versions for Ages Past and Bristol. Ages Past audiobook is available at Google Play. There are a few issues with A.I conversion from text to audio. I have received positive feedback from people about the audiobook. They understood that Google Play was Beta Testing the A.I conversion of text to audiobook. I had decided to allow Google Play to use Ages Past for their Beta Testing. Bristol was part of that Beta Testing, I need to give it a longer listen prior to my final approval before it is made publicly available.

    Going forward when writing, I am keeping in mind the usage of an A.I to create audiobooks from my text. It is another learning curve... Audiobooks are gaining popularity.

    Over the years, I've had three bestselling authors (including Ralph Cotton) tell me the same thing. I needed to write a series, and that my 5th book would become a breakout novel. Number 5 was Accidental Destiny. And yes, it is a series. At the time of this post, I am writing a 2nd book in the Efren Toliver Series. I think my 7th book, 3rd in that series has potential to become mainstream...

    Ralph Cotton was a prolific writer. At the time of this posting he had 79 published novels. Click here to visit his website, and scroll through titles and book covers.
    (Since the 1990s, I have been webmaster for his website)

    Ralph Cotton will continue to be an inspiration for me.

    Casper Parks...

    Learn more about Casper Parks novels, click here.
    Last edited by CasperParks; 02-24-2024 at 09:35 AM.

  8. #178

    Side notation: Smaller e-tablets weren't doing it for me. A few years ago, I started using a 12 inch e-tablet to read books. e-Tablets allows an increase of font size for easier reading. For older adults, increasing font size for reading is nice. For a collection of books by a certain author, sometimes I'll buy print. For the most part, I buy e-books.

    Convincing an older parent or grandparent to transition to an e-reader has challenges. Ability to use technology is an issue.

  9. #179
    Sorry about your loss. Condolences.
    An opinion should be the result of thought, not a substitute for it.
    - Jef Mallett

    Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge.
    - Charles Darwin

  10. #180
    Quote Originally Posted by Garuda View Post
    Sorry about your loss. Condolences.
    Thank-you...

    It was a long post to read... He was a great source of encouragement.

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